Police make arrest in Rittenhouse Square rape case

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police have announced an arrest in a rape over the weekend in an apartment building in the tony Rittenhouse Square area of central Philadelphia.

Captain John Darby of the Philadelphia Police special victims unit said Tuesday that 28-year-old male suspect Milton Mateo Garcia would face charges including rape, robbery, burglary and kidnapping.

Darby said a brief signal from a phone stolen from the victim led investigators to a south Philadelphia neighborhood, and they were then able to target a particular residence. The suspect was later arrested at a restaurant where he worked.

Capt. John Darby, head of the Special Victims Unit, said Tuesday that 28-year-old Milton Mateo Garcia has been charged with Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Kidnapping and related offenses for the assault that took place early Saturday morning.

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“We have this guy off the street and you can rest easy today. More importantly, this young professional woman and her family can begin to rebuild,” Darby said during a news conference.

Mateo Garcia, who lives along the 1800 block of South Eighth Street in South Philadelphia, was taken into custody on Monday along with three of his roommates. After hours of questioning, Mateo Garcia made a statement, was arrested and charged. The other men were released. Darby would not elaborate about what the man said in his statement to detectives.

Police said the 26-year-old woman was returning home early Saturday when a man who had been riding a bicycle approached her from behind, forced her into her building and into her upstairs apartment, and assaulted her.

Police believe he then left the apartment, only to return and rape her again.

The suspect was captured on at least two surveillance videos in the area.

The victim, a local doctor, was returning home from a night out at local bar with friends early Saturday when she was approached from behind by the alleged rapist along the 1900 block of Spruce Street. Surveillance video showed the man grabbing the woman and walking her into her apartment building.

Police say he forced his way into the woman’s apartment and repeatedly raped her. He then stole her smartphone and keys before leaving the apartment. He fled on a bike that he had tied to a tree near the apartment.

Police say the woman worked with detectives on a sketch of the suspect and that they received info on the suspect after the sketch was made public.